RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--(COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Nov 26, 2002--The winners of the 2003 King Faisal International Prizes for Science (topic: Chemistry) and Medicine (topic: Breast Cancer) were announced tonight in Riyadh. They are:
Science:
Professor Marion Frederick Hawthorne (USA)
Professor Koji Nakanishi (Japan)
Medicine:
Professor Axel Ullrich (Germany)
Professor Umberto Veronesi (Italy)
Professor Hawthorne (Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles) is one of the most creative and productive chemists in the world. His research ranges from the syntheses of new compounds to novel therapies for cancer. He has been influential in the field of boron chemistry, particularly in its industrial applications to catalysis of polymerization. Professor Hawthorne`s research could lead to the development of a ''silver bullet'' to destroy cancerous cells while sparing healthy ones.
Professor Nakanishi (Centennial Professor of Chemistry, Columbia University, USA), is an equally eminent chemist. He has established the properties and elucidated the structures of many chemical compounds including antibiotics, carcinogenic materials, and anticancer products. Professor Nakanishi`s recent research concentrates on the interaction of light with the molecules responsible for vision. This is likely to accelerate the development of a treatment for macular degeneration.
Professor Ullrich (Director, Department of Molecular Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry) is widely regarded for his outstanding contributions to the study of the molecular biology of breast cancer. Over the last 20 years he and his colleagues have demonstrated the role of tyrosine kinase receptors as growth promoters for cancerous cells. Their discovery of the HER-2 oncogene in 1985 led to the subsequent description of its amplification. In 1990 his description of a monoclonal antibody to the EGF receptor led to the development of Herceptin, the first clinically effective monoclonal antibody.
Over the past three decades Professor Veronesi (Scientific Director, European Institute of Oncology, Milan) has pioneered a revolution in the management of breast cancer. His pivotal role in demonstrating the safety of a wide resection followed by radiotherapy spared countless of women from mastectomy and its consequences. In further research on ways to improve the quality of life of breast cancer patients, he developed axillary-sparing sentinal node dissection to prevent lymphoedema. Recently he has been engaged in developing intra-operative radiotherapy. This greatly shortens the time for multi-modality therapy.
This is the 26th annual King Faisal International Prize announcement.
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